03. May 2023  
Wladimir, RUS  
Artistic Gymnastics

Former gymnastics world champion Yuri Korolev died at only 60 years old

Juri Korolev *25.08.1962 - +29.04.2023

One of the dominant gymnasts of world gymnastics in the 1980's, Yuri Nikolayevich KOROLEV, passed away on 29 April 2023 at the age of only 60. This was announced by the press service of the Russian Gymnastics Federation.
The two-time all-around world champion (1981, Moscow; 1985, Montreal), who was runner-up again in 1987 in Rotterdam and won the all-around World Cup the year before with China's LI Ning and won a total of 9 World Championship gold medals between 1981 and 1987, was European Champion 5 times and belongs in the history of world gymnastics together with Dmitri Biloserchev, Valeri Liukin, Vladimir Artyomov, Valentin Mogilni to one of the strongest gymnastics teams of the former Soviet sport and the world, with which Korolev won 3 World Championship team gold medals ahead of China and Japan. ..
 

Yuri Nikolayevich KOROLEV was born in Vladimir on 25 August 1962.
 His international sporting career really took off at his European Championships debut in Rome in 1981, when he first came second in the all-around as a 19-year-old, then became European floor champion together with Roland Brueckner from Berlin (GDR), and then won his second European Championships gold after a sensational triple somersault on the still rings.

 Germany's ex-vice world champion Silvio Kroll (GDR) - third in the all-around behind Korolev in Monreal in 1985 - also remembers this fair sportsman in particular when they both competed at the World Cup finals in Beijing in 1987, Korolev won the all-around with the exceptional Chinese athlete LI Ning and Sylvio Kroll from Cottbus came second twice - on vault and high bar - behind Korolev.

During a joint excursion to the Great Wall of China, the two got to know each other better in private and the author of this sad obituary also remembers the personal encounter there on historic ground with this outstanding athlete ...!

A tragic achilles tendon injury then prevented the exceptional Soviet athlete from taking part in the Olympic Games, which he already had to miss in 1984 due to the Olympic boycott in Los Angeles ...

Yuri Korolev then worked as a coach at the Tolkachev Children's and Youth Sports School in his hometown Wladimir, produced a national champion in Dmitri Barkalov and, after his active career as an athlete, followed up with an equally successful career as an international referee...

Juri Korolev (li.) with Prof. Anton Gajdos (SVK) at the WCh in Stuttgart

So Juri finally came, albeit 20 years later, to his personal Olympic assignment 2008 in Beijing as an international judge. One year before he acted as a juror at the World Championships 2007 in the Hans Martin Schleyer Hall in Stuttgart / Germany.

His admired uniqueness consisted above all in his distinctive way of high quality mastery of optimal techniques, even of extraordinary difficulties!
At the same time, all his friends appreciated him as a modest, at the same time sympathetic and caring person with a strong character and great authority for his students.

A sports legend who passed away far too early ...!
Those who had the chance to meet him will never forget this extraordinary person Yuri KOROLEV!
(C) gymmedia / Eckhard Herholz